Boeing announced the debut flight of its 777X – the latest variant of its popular long-range, twin jet, twin-aisle aircraft, is now delayed until early 2020 due to the engine problems.
The grounding of the 737 MAX has done immense damage to Boeing industry and also pushed back the maiden flight of a new Boeing aircraft. That newly announced jet is a vital machine for Boeing in its rivalry with famous Airbus.
Boeing declared fall of free cash flow to a negative $1.01 billion in the quarter, since the MAX was grounded commercially.
Boeing Chief Financial Officer Greg Smith told analysts the 737 MAX levy as compensation to airlines would probably damage the cash flow in 2019 and beyond, and said Boeing will continue to “diligently review all levers available” to reduce the impact of financial damage.
Analyst Robert Stallard stated in a note that, “although the headline numbers for 2Q look pretty grim, they are not as bad as we had been forecasting.”
The company said it would generate a new 2019 outlook at a future date, as the current forecast, which was stuck in April after two deadly crashes.
Boeing’s net loss for the first full quarter of operations since 737 MAX was grounded is $2.94 billion, compared with a profit of $2.20 billion, a year earlier.
Sales dropped 35% to $15.75 billion and also came in below the average estimate of $18.55 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Refinitiv is a global provider financial market’s data, analytics, trading, and risk assessment tools so one can trade smarter and faster, overcome regulatory challenges and predict intelligently.
Globally, airline industries had to cancel thousands of flights, switched to Boeing’s rival Airbus by permanently replacing 737 Max with A-320 and use spare aircraft to cover routes that were previously destined to be covered by the fuel-efficient MAX.
